Drive of the Wolf
by Shinji Shazaki
Summary: The last act.  Does Renault win or does Jun retain her titles?  All of this and plenty more in this final chapter!  Oh, and a minor slash warning with an explanation at the end of the last act.  Read, review, and I hope you enjoyed!
1. A Technician's Return

Drive of the Wolf

Act 1: A Technician's Return

[Disclaimer: Disney owns "Fillmore!"  I own whatever I write/create.  Don't steal and don't sue.]

"That was the third cart!  What did you two do out there?"  Officers Fillmore and Third kept their composure, eyes calm against Commissioner Vallejo's rage.

"Vallejo, come on," Fillmore rumbled.  "We brought the guy in.  Besides, the damage can't be that bad."  Vallejo snarled, his hands twitching slightly as though he wanted to snatch something and smash it over Fillmore's head.

"The carts are totaled," the junior commissioner growled.  "The metal shop can't fix them.  The engines are so damaged, Folsom's said she'll take cash out of the Patrol's budget to get new ones."

"We didn't damage the carts," Ingrid murmured.  "That was Jason Royal's fault."

"I heard the reports!" Vallejo interrupted fiercely.  "I know he drove one into the lake, another into a tree, and the last one off a flight of stairs.  Folsom still held us responsible because we didn't stop him before he crashed each time."

"Held?" Fillmore raised a brow in question.  "You sayin' Folsom's not going to cut our budget?"  Vallejo smirked slightly and went over to his cocoa pot, pouring out a mug of steaming hot cocoa.

"You two are lucky," he explained gruffly.  "Folsom told me this morning that she just got news that our Mech Club is finally going to start up again.  Jun Faolan is finally coming back to school."  A bell toned and signaled the end of the day.  "Folsom's going to personally reintroduce Jun tomorrow morning in the auditorium.  Be there after homeroom on stage."

----------

"Who's Jun Faolan?" Ingrid questioned.  Fillmore turned to his partner as they made their way down the sidewalk.  The bespectacled boy chuckled slightly as he and Ingrid pushed against the concrete with their free foot, pushing their respective skateboard and scooter a bit further on.

"I'm surprised you haven't seen the articles in the Examiner," he started to explain.  "The Mech Club was the top in the state for the two years it went on.  A girl named Jun Faolan started it.  She could fix or make anything and everything out of practically nothing.  Principal Folsom was always totally calm when something was broken because she knew Jun could fix it.  Heck, Jun even made that cart Folsom rides around in all the time."

"So why did the club only go for two years?" Ingrid questioned.  "It sounds like Folsom would never shut it down."  Fillmore frowned suddenly and both of them stopped.

"A year ago, just after school started, something happened," he explained.  "Jun works at her father's custom chopper shop, and there was an accident.  Some kind of explosion was what most of the newspaper reports said.  A couple of gas tanks caught a few sparks from a light bulb when she was working on another bike.  She nearly died, and she had to stay in the hospital for the whole school year."

"That must have been a bad explosion," Ingrid remarked, unsure of what else to say.  "So why didn't the Mech Club go on for the year that she was in the hospital?  The club will have to go on after she graduates anyway."

"Well, thing was, Jun had a rival in the club," Fillmore continued to tell a tale.  "Jace Renault.  He's got nowhere near her skills, but he always said he would beat Jun at some kind of build.  When Jun was hospitalized, some of the things she had been working on—better motors for some of the carts here, pieces of bikes for her dad—started to get banged up real bad.  Then one day, someone went into the garage where the club was held everyday and found Jace taking a hammer to Jun's stuff.

"So, to make sure that Jun's dad didn't pull his sponsorship, Folsom closed off the garage and put Renault in eight weeks of detention.  The club was put on hold until Jun got out of the hospital.  So I guess now the club's going to start again.  We'll just have to see at tomorrow's assembly."

----------

"One year ago, X Middle School lost one of its most promising students."  The highest members of the Safety Patrol sat in the chairs behind Principal Folsom, listening as she delivered her well-prepared speech to the student body.

"However," Folsom continued, smiling her close-eyed smile at the students, "after an ordeal unlike any other, that student has recovered and returned to us here at X.  Now, I have the honor to reintroduce the greatest mechanical mind this school has ever seen.  May I introduce to you the president of the Mech Club, head technician of X Middle School, and captain of X's motocross team: Jun Faolan!"

Applause and cheers started up as a figure walked out from the wings.  A tall girl strode towards Principal Folsom, and the applause reached a deafening level.  She wore dark blue jeans over steel-toe boots, and a denim jacket over a black t-shirt.  Her hair, oddly jagged, was black and fell around a pair of mirrored sunglasses.  Folsom backed away from the podium, clapping her hands along with everyone.  The girl, Jun, took her place and looked at the gathered students with a smile.

"'Lo again," she said once the roar of the crowd had ceased.  "Of course, it's a pleasure to be back here at X.  I was never good with words 'fore I had to leave, and 'm not any better now.  If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to what I do best to make this school e'en better."  Without another word, she nodded her head to the crowd with her easy smile and backed away from the podium.  Applause rang out again as Folsom stepped forwards, clapping genially.

"Welcome back to X, Jun!" the principal said.  "Welcome back!"  Cheers accompanied Jun all the way off the stage.

----------

"X hasn't changed a' all," Jun remarked with a smirk.  "Though I don't remember getting a Safety Patrol escort to the garage."

"You remember Jace Renault?" Fillmore questioned.  When Jun nodded, he continued to speak.  "He was taking a hammer to your work, your tools—everything that had to do with you in that garage.  Folsom doesn't want anything else happening."

"I forgot my father sponsors the school for the garage," Jun chuckled.  The trio reached a door that read "Metal Garage" in the window.  Jun pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked the door.

Once inside, with lights on and humming, Ingrid and Fillmore took in the massive garage in silence.  It was a large, white space filled with tool chests, canisters of acetylene, and numerous machines to work metal and engines.  Jun heaved a small sigh, smirking broadly at the garage.

"It's been a while since I've been in a garage," she said softly.  "I'd almost forgotten what it's like.  There doesn't seem to be anything out of place, so you officers can head back to your headquarters.  'Sides, I think I have some of your handiwork to fix up."  Fillmore and Ingrid shared a slightly embarrassed glance before turning towards the door to leave.

Heavy, running footsteps rang out in the empty hall and the two patrollers paused.  A boy with dark blue hair, not unlike officer Anza, ran down the hall, closely followed by a girl with the same dark blue hair.

"Jace, stop!" the girl shouted, trying to catch up to the boy.  Ignoring both her and the stunned officers, the boy raced into the metal garage.

"Eyes!" Jun suddenly shouted.  There was a sudden hissing and a sharp snap of sound from welding.  The boy shouted angrily in pain and fell to the floor.  Ingrid, Fillmore, and the girl hurried into the garage.  The boy was kneeling on the floor, rubbing at his eyes and groaning incoherently.  Jun turned from a cart engine and put down the welding gun and wire, flipping her welder's mask up.

"I guess you've been thrown out of the Mech Club for too long," she said disapprovingly.  She crouched down and frowned at the boy.  A massive scar covered both of her black eyes, spilling over slightly to the sides of her nose.  Her sunglasses had hid the scar perfectly up until then.

"You forgot that we shout 'eyes' for a reason, Renault," she murmured.  "Why're you here?"

"I demand to be let back into the Mech Club!" the boy shouted, rubbing at his pained eyes.  "I was thrown out without reason!"

"You were trying to sabotage everything she was working on, Jace!" the girl interrupted.  "You were thrown out for a perfect reason!"

"Shut your mouth, Nadia!" Renault shouted in return.  "Let me back in, Faolan!  You're just scared that I'll show you up like I always do!  Let me back in or you're a coward!"  Jun sighed and flipped down the mask.

"Eyes!" she said.  While those gathered covered their eyes, she continued to weld a tube to the cart.  When it was safe, Renault uncovered his eyes and glared at Jun.  "Tell you what, Renault.  I have a lot of work to do right now.  Meet me after school at the motocross track for a time trial.  You get a better time than me, then you can be in the club again.  You don't get a better time, then you stay away from the club from now on."

"Fine!" Renault snapped with a grin.  "I'll see you at the track right after school!"  He turned and walked swiftly from the garage.  Ingrid and Fillmore shared a look before turning their eyes to Jun.  She looked at them in turn, flipping the welder's mask up.  To their surprise, she was smiling.

"Thanks for the escort, officers," she chuckled.  "If you're desperate to keep watch on me, just head to the track after school.  I'm going to be busy for the day, all right?  Don't worry about all this."  Fillmore raised a brow at her words.

"You realize that Folsom herself made the call that Renault's supposed to stay out of the club?" he asked.  "She does not want him in here at all."

"I know," Jun replied, pulling off her mask and picking up a rubber mallet.  She tapped at the dented panel of the cart before striking it sharply.  The strike echoed in the garage briefly.

"Then you know that if you lose to him, he still can't come back?" Ingrid inquired.

"Jun won't lose to him!" the blue-haired girl protested.  "She's the best racer in the school!  She always has been!"

"Who are you?" Fillmore asked firmly, but without demanding.

"Nadia Renault," she answered.  "Before you ask, yes, Jace is my twin brother."

"She's been in the club every year that she could be," Jun spoke up suddenly before hitting the panel again.  "She works part-time at my father's shop with me, is vice president of the Mech Club, and is a rider on the motocross team."

"Nice to see you didn't get your brother's serious attitude," Fillmore chortled with a smile.  "Still, what are you doing here?"

"Principal Folsom said that she wanted me to work with Jun full-time for her first week back," Nadia replied, a faint hint of pride and pleasure in her voice.  "My brother asked me where I was going when I didn't go straight for first period with him.  I guess I shouldn't have said I was coming here.  Sorry."  She blushed faintly in embarrassment.  Jun looked up at her, put down the mallet, and patted the other girl on the head.

"No prob'm," she muttered.  "Listen, officers, 'm not trying to be rude, but my work is pretty full, so I need to get on before the end of school.  D'you mind…leavin' now?"  Fillmore studied Jun for a few minutes more and nodded, turning on heel and leaving with Ingrid at his side.

"What do you think?" Ingrid asked as they walked in the empty hallways.

"I think we need to keep a close eye on Renault," Fillmore replied.

"Which one?" she questioned.

"Maybe both," he answered with a frown.  "Somethin' about Nadia rubs me the wrong way.  Like she's keeping a secret or something."

"So we're going to the motocross track?"

"Man, even if she wasn't going up against Renault for somethin', you wouldn't wanna miss her riding.  It's so wicked it's scary."  Ingrid raised a brow.

----------

"Looks like the motocross team is getting some old fans back." Ingrid remarked with a smirk.  Somehow, the entirety of the school had heard about Jun's challenge to Jace Renault.  The stands around the dirt track were filled, and the sports announcers had begun to unofficially report on the event.

"_Well, it looks like we're all in for a big treat today!_" a boy's voice boomed from the speakers.  "_It's been an entire year since we've had such a turnout for a motocross event, isn't that right, Lisa?_"

"_That's right, Tom!_" a girl replied perkily.  "_As we all know, Jun Faolan, our resident motocross star, was hospitalized until this summer and just started again here at X today._"

"_Yes indeed,_" Tom chuckled.  "_And what a return it has been!  She has challenged an ex-member of the Mech Club, Jace Renault, to a time trial to see whether or not Renault will become a member once more!_"

"Quite a turnout," Fillmore murmured.  "You still think this is a good idea?"  He and Ingrid stood near Jun, who was making a few last minute checks on the motocross bike's engine.

"I think it's a bloody brilliant idea!" Jun laughed aloud, grinning madly.  "The only two things I'm good at are mechanics and racing, so this is perfect for me!"

"You've been out of commission for months," Ingrid murmured, her expression concerned.  "Renault's probably been training to try and show you up."

"Of course he's been training," Jun said, still laughing.  "Nadia tol' me all about it!  Came every day to my hospital room and always tol' me that he was riding around all the time on his junker of a bike."  Fillmore and Ingrid shared a look, but Jun took no notice.  Nadia, who was at Jun's side and working on the bike as well, noticed it and knelt down to hide her face by looking over the bolts.

"You want to go first to show how crappy you've gotten?" Jace Renault said with a sneer as he pushed his bike to stand close to Jun.  He, like Jun, was in a bodysuit, chest pad, leg guards, arm guards, and a helmet under his arm.  "Or do you want me to go and show everyone how much better I am than you?"

"Leave her alone, Jace!" Nadia snapped, standing and facing her brother.  "She'll beat you!"  Renault frowned at her, but didn't say anything.

"You can go first if you want," Jun said.  "'M not picky."  Renault looked furious at Jun's lack of anxiety about facing him, but jerked his head.  The two boys that had followed him continued to dog his steps as he walked to the starting point on the track.

"_And it looks like Renault is going to take his run first!_" Tom said in his disturbingly perky voice.  "_Rider, on your mark!_"  Jace waved the two other boys away and started the bike's engine, pulling on his helmet.  He revved it fiercely and shot Jun a glare before snapping his goggles on over his eyes.

"_Get set!_" Lisa continued the phrase.  He leaned on the bike with one foot on the ground, his wheel millimeters away from the painted white line.  The announcers' fingers were the same distance from the timer's start button.  Red digital numbers glared "00:00" on the announcers' box.  The crowd waited in antsy silence.

"_GO!_"  Renault shot from the starting line like a bullet, accompanied by screams from the crowd.  The track was a massive dirt field with sharp turns and large moguls.  There was also one utterly gigantic jump that few people dared to take at high speeds.  There had been a few accidents resulting from too-high jumps; thusly, people were rarely brave enough to jump the gap between the dirt mounds and often passed around it on the narrow strip of dirt that was there.

Renault—this was one of the few, somewhat clichéd ways to put it—flew.  He made loose dirt spray from his back wheel.  The jumps he took were exceptional and he only wobbled three times in the seven jumps.  He zoomed down the second to last straightaway, but did not try his luck with the last jump.  He turned sharply and crossed the finish line.

"_Time!_" Lisa shouted when Renault crossed the line.  "_Incredible!  One minute and fifteen seconds!  That's just five seconds above the current track record—held of course, by Jun Faolan!_"

"_Right you are, Lisa!_" Tom laughed in reply.  "_Now it's Jun's turn!  In order for her to win this challenge, she'll probably have to equal or better her old record!  Rider to the starting line!_"

"How do you like that?" Renault asked with a sneering grin.  "There's no way you can beat that time after a whole year without doing anything!"  Jun smiled at him.

"I admit 'm a tad out of trainin'," she chuckled.  "Nice run."  Renault sneered again, his expression showing the hatred he felt for the girl.  He walked away; pushing his bike as he went to the two boys he seemed to be friends with.  Jun watched him go for a moment before starting to pull on her helmet.  Nadia took Jun's wrist quickly as she pulled a small, wrapped box from her jeans pocket.

"I got you this for when you started racing again," she said, her cheeks reddening in a blush.  "Open it."  Jun did as she was bid and opened the box to find large, perfectly round clear glass goggles.  The goggles were split into two circles—one for each eye—and the glass was surrounded by dark gray plastic and all connected by a black elastic strap.

"Nadia," Jun murmured, speechless at the gesture.  "Thank you."  She pulled the goggles on and smiled broadly at Nadia.  She pulled her helmet on, jumped on her bike, and eased it to the starting line.

"_Rider on your mark!_" Lisa cried.  The timer was reset and Jun started her bike.  The crowd went silent again.  Fillmore and Ingrid glanced at Renault and the boys at his sides, but they made no move.

"_Get set!_" Tom shouted.  Jun was balancing on one foot—barely one toe as she leaned close to the bike and gripped the handles, carefully revving the engine to get it warmed up after a full year.

"_GO!_"  Jun's start was phenomenal.  Her speed and reflexive jerk on the accelerator on the right-hand handle caused the bike to briefly lift into a low, fast wheelie.  Dirt flew higher and farther than it had under Renault's wheels.  She took corners closer to the inside, leaning sharply with each turn and blasting through each of them.

Not only did Jun feel confident enough to take the moguls at top speed, but also when she was in the air, she dared to pull stunts.  She lifted her hands from the handles and punched the air; she let go and leaned completely back on the seat.  Jun came to the second to last straightaway and gunned the engine.  She shot up the jump and flew into the air.  Her hands remained on the handles, but her body lifted from the bike and rose to hover parallel over the bike.

Cameras flashed in the stands.  Jun landed cleanly, leaned sharply in the last turn, and soared over the finish line.  The crowd swelled and roared its approval and awe at the run.

"_It's a NEW record!_" Lisa squealed.  "_One minute exactly!  Jun has broken her own record!_"

"_Incredible!_" Tom shouted in a commending voice.  "_Absolutely incredible!  An unbelievable run by X's own Jun Faolan!_"  The crowd screamed, applauded, and did everything else they could to show their pleasure at Jun's performance.

"No _way_!"  Fillmore and Ingrid turned on instinct, stepping forward as Renault stormed over to stand before Jun.  He was purely livid.  Nadia stood defiantly at Jun's side, glaring at her brother.  Jun slowly pulled off her helmet and lifted the goggles to rest comfortably in her shaggy hair.

"There is no _way_ that you could get _better_ after being injured for so long!" Renault shrieked in rage.  "Forget it!  I don't want to be a member of the Mech Club!"

"You don't?" Jun asked, her eyes lidded as if she was sleepy.  "I thought you did."

"Now I challenge you to a mech build-off!" Renault shouted, throwing his helmet at Jun's feet.  "In two months, we'll unveil something we build in two-person teams to the whole school!  Whoever wins the competition takes the positions as Mech Club president, captain of the motocross team, and head technician of X!  Back down from this and you're nothing but a coward!"  Jun blinked once and nodded.  Renault frowned at her, turned on heel, and stormed away.

"_Dawg_," Fillmore rumbled, crossing his arms and shaking his head.  "That dude is bad news.  You really gonna do this, Jun?"  He and Ingrid turned when Jun did not answer.  "Jun?"  Jun was bone-white and shaking on the bike.  She let out a shaking breath and slumped to the right.  She and the bike both fell, and Jun did not move.

"Jun!"

_—to be continued—_


	2. Another Hole in the Metal

Drive of the Wolf

Act 2: Another Hole in the Metal

[Disclaimer: Disney owns "Fillmore!"  I own whatever I write/create.  Don't steal and don't sue.]

"Fillmore!  Ingrid!  What.  Happened?"  Principal Folsom had just arrived at the nurse's office.  Her face was hard, angry, and just a little bit concerned.

"It's Jun's _first_ day back at X," she said, pacing the room as the two officers stood near the door of the enclosed room in the office.  "I made you two—my _best_ Safety Patrollers—her bodyguards.  First you let that Renault boy into the garage.  Then you let Jun challenge him to a race and go through with the race.  Now I hear she's collapsed on your watch.  _What happened_?"

"Please, Principal Folsom, it's not their fault," Nadia Renault spoke suddenly, opening the door of the enclosed room and stepping into their midst.  "Jun's all right—she's just a little anemic now because of the accident last year.  She tried too hard at the race.  She's all right, really.  She's awake now."  Folsom let out a heavy sigh, pressing her manicured fingers against her temples.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" she asked tersely.

"Yeah," Fillmore admitted grudgingly.  "Renault challenged her to a two-month build-off—whatever that means."

"A build-off is where a person or a team have a certain amount of time to build something of similar fashions to outdo another person or team," Ingrid replied.  At the raised brows she received, she shrugged.  "I watch a lot of the Teaching Channel."

"What are the stakes?" Folsom questioned.

"All of Jun's titles," Fillmore answered.  "Head technician, president of the Mech Club, and captain of the motocross team."  Folsom frowned and rubbed her temples harder.

"Jace Renault," she said angrily, "is little more than a delinquent who knows how to weld and ride a bike.  Jun Faolan is the greatest technical mind to cross X's threshold in years.  I want you two to make sure that nothing goes wrong during this build-off thing.  Do not let Renault take her rightful positions.  Do not let him sabotage her.  Am I understood?"

"Crystal," Ingrid responded.  Folsom nodded, turned, and left the office.  Fillmore and Ingrid turned to Nadia.

"You said that Jun's awake?" Fillmore inquired.  Nadia nodded and walked back into the room with Ingrid and Fillmore following.  Jun was sitting on the psuedo-couch in the room, which was little more than plush cushions on a wood ledge.  She was leaning heavily into the junction of the walls, her denim jacket draped over her front.  She still looked quite pale.

"Bloody hell," Jun grumbled when Nadia sat down in a chair next to her.  "Feel sick as a drowned rat."

"Jun Faolan?" Ingrid asked.  She and Fillmore stood at the end of the couch-ledge where Jun's feet were.  Jun looked up at them expectantly.  "Principal Folsom is assigning us to be your bodyguards during your build-off."

"Guessed as much," Jun muttered.  She didn't seem very keen on the idea of opening her mouth much.  "Don't think Renault's against a bit of sabotage."

"That's the idea," Fillmore agreed.  "It's safe to say that he might try anything to get your titles—and abuse 'em.  So, starting tomorrow, we'll be with you for most of the day and whenever you're working for the build-off."

"So 'm gettin' bodyguards?" Jun asked with a faint smile.  "Along with my tutor?"

"Tutor?" Ingrid questioned.  "You don't get your grades waved?"

"I do my work," Jun replied.  "'Sides, Nadia's a good tutor."  Nadia blushed crimson.  "My dad's probably going to be here soon to pick us up.  Thanks for the escort up here, officers."  Seemingly summoned by the words, a man with an abundance of thick muscles burst into the room.  He was pale before he saw that Jun was awake.

"Jun!" he sighed.  "Thank goodness.  Thought you'd really passed out for a while there.  Come on.  Let's get you home.  You coming, Nadia?"  Nadia nodded with a bright smile.  The man walked to Jun, turned about, and crouched down.  Jun put her arms around his neck and he easily lifted her up off the couch.  Nadia followed them as they left the room.

Ingrid and Fillmore watched them leave before leaving as well.  They abruptly parted when Ingrid continued to walk back towards Safety Patrol headquarters.

"You gonna do some digging?" Fillmore asked.

"Yeah," Ingrid said with a nod.  "You're right.  Something about this whole case is giving off a bad vibe.  Late?"

"Late," he responded.  They parted with their staple nod and went their separate ways.

----------

"Did you find anything yesterday?"  Ingrid shook her head, still staring at a sheet of paper.  Three separate files were spread across her desk, one for Jun, one for Nadia, and one for Renault.

"Everything seems to check out," she said.  "From old photos that were in the past few yearbooks, Nadia always seems to be with Jun, even when she wasn't at X Middle School.  She's technically a year behind Jun, but since Jun lost a year from her accident…"  She trailed off, putting the sheet of paper down and looking up at her friend and partner keenly.  Fillmore sighed and leaned against his desk.

"So where does Jace fit in?" he asked.

"He doesn't," she answered.  "That's the weird thing.  A few months after he and Nadia started middle school he joined the Mech Club, but he almost never went to any of the meetings.  After that, he started his vendetta against her.  No one knows why he hates her so much.  And to add insult to injury for him, Jun doesn't seem to care at all that he hates her.  She's polite to an exceptional degree."

"That's gotta make Renault ticked," he murmured.  "So he joined the club after his sister had been there for a few months, skips out on the meetings, and starts gettin' mad at Jun all the time.  There's really somethin' missin' from this."

"Why does Renault hate her?" Ingrid voiced the question aloud.  The bell rang and signaled the end of homeroom.

"We can ask Jun and Nadia about it right now," Fillmore murmured.  "Come on—let's get down to the garage."  They made their way through the swarm of students to the metal garage, but when they arrived, the door was closed.  A note on the door read: "Mech Club meetings cancelled until January."  Fillmore tried to open the door, but it was locked.  He knocked.  There was a pause before Nadia opened the door.

"Sorry," she said with a smile, stepping aside and letting them in.  "We've been here since homeroom with the door locked.  Jun thought it would be a better idea if we kept the door locked since she and I are the only ones with keys."

"Good thinking," Ingrid said with an appraising smile.  "You won't have to worry about Renault bursting in on you."

"And speaking of Renault," Fillmore rumbled.  "Do you have any idea why he's got such a grudge against you, Jun?"

"Not a single one," Jun answered.  "Never knew why he was so shirty with me.  Never cared to ask, really.  You live with him, Nadia—'m sure he complains about me a lot.  Any ideas?"  Nadia paused briefly before shaking her head.

"He does complain a lot, but he never says why he doesn't like you," she sighed.  "Maybe he's just jealous that you spend so much time with me and he doesn't."

"Sounds logical," Ingrid muttered.  "But if that was the case, why wouldn't he come to the Mech Club meetings?  That way they could both hang out with you."  Nadia shook her head with a faint sigh.

"I've tried to suggest that to him, but he always storms off and tells me to stop bothering him," she said mournfully.  "He doesn't want anything to do with Jun."

"Nadia, c'mere," Jun said suddenly.  "I need your opinion on this."  Abandoning the conversation, Nadia walked quickly to where Jun stood.  A frame was on a lift and pieces of metal were on a table nearby.

"It's going a sport bike," Jun answered the question the Safety Patrollers didn't ask.  "The kind of motorcycle that you see for races.  My father normally works with choppers.  Those are more for show and are harder to ride.  Honestly though I think I have a good idea to make this bike look just as good as a chopper."  Nadia looked the bike over, examining the metal pieces and the frame.

"How are you going to be able to make this?" Ingrid asked curiously.  "Even Folsom won't shell out thousands of dollars to help you."  Jun grinned at her.

"My dad's introducing me to the business of motorcycles," she said.  "He says that I've done enough work for him to pay for a few bikes, and he's going to help me buy the things we'll need."  Fillmore raised his brows in surprise.

"Your dad does well, huh?" he questioned.

"I guess that's true," Jun murmured, looking towards the ceiling as if thinking about it for the first time.  "Never thought of me-self as well-off before."  She shrugged slightly and turned to Nadia.  Nadia was running slender fingers over the metal pieces.

"I think I have an idea," she said softly, vaguely as she continued to trail her fingers over the metal.  "Are you planning a full-body casing?"  Jun smirked and nodded.  Nadia smiled at her.  "Then I think we'll go for a full-body drawing."  Jun grinned again.

"If you're doing the painting, then we might win just for that," she chuckled.  She and Nadia leaned together over the pieces and began to speak in terms and specifications that neither Ingrid nor Fillmore understood.  The day continued in this thread.  Jun and Nadia began to cut metal and weld pieces together, occasionally calling to each other for input on something or for assistance on something.

Despite their total lack of knowledge in the mechanics field, Ingrid and Fillmore couldn't help but stay on their feet, standing a safe distance from the builders, but watching everything they did avidly.  Both of them, even Fillmore who had known of her before, soon realized why Jun was so admired for her technical skill.  She was a fast worker, but she checked each aspect of her work multiple times for any faults.  When she found one, which was neither rare nor common, she fixed it easily and just as quickly.

The bell rang almost too soon for the group.  Jun gave the clock in the garage a very ugly look, but cleared away her tools and packed pieces of paper into her courier-style bag.

"My father will help me bring what we need tomorrow morning," she said to Nadia.  "Are you going to have sketches done for me?"  Nadia nodded quickly with a healthy blush.  Jun gave her a smile, pushing back her evident weariness and irritation with the time to favor her friend with that sign of friendship.  Nadia smiled broadly as well.

----------

The build went rather smoothly for the first month.  Neither Jun nor Renault let news of what they were building slip out to the Examiner.  Renault was reported to snarl and show his fists to whoever asked him about his project, but Jun rebuked the questions with a vague smile and a reminder that she wouldn't tell.

Fillmore and Ingrid dodged questions as well, but only murmured a casual "No comment."  The sport bike that Jun and Nadia were building was completed at the halfway mark.  As Fillmore and Ingrid were told on the last day of the first month, the only things that needed to be completed in this final month were to powder coat the frame, chrome certain pieces, finish the paint job on the body casing, reassemble the bike, wire it, and take the initial ride.

"Ingrid?" Fillmore questioned.  "Aren't you a little early?  Wait, this is just like the Ultra-Box, isn't it?"  Ingrid gave him a sheepish smile.

"Well, you can't say that Jun doesn't have style," she murmured.  "I've never seen such a cool thing in my life.  I've never met such a cool person."  Fillmore chuckled at the statement.  "But Jun doesn't seem to care, does she?"

"Nope," he agreed, a thoughtful frown appearing on his face.  "It's like she really only cares about how good her work is.  Even if tons of people say it's the coolest thing they've ever seen, she just smiles.  She never brags."  Ingrid looked thoughtful as they made their way to the garage.

"Maybe Renault hates that about her," she sighed.  "Maybe he'd prefer it if she _acted_ like she was the best builder in the school instead of like a average worker."  Fillmore shook his head.

"I don't think that's it," he said.  "You know, I don't even have an idea of why he hates her.  Maybe…naw, there's no way."

"What?" she questioned.

"You don't think maybe Renault's crushin' on Jun, do you?" he asked in return.  "Some people act weird when they like someone.  Renault might get angry and jealous that his sister gets to hang out more with Jun than he does—he might want to spend more time _alone_ with Jun."  Ingrid thought about this, but never received a chance to give her reply.  A shout and a curse echoed through the hallway, emanating from the garage.  Fillmore and Ingrid broke into a run and knocked on the door sharply.  Nadia pulled the door open, her eyes wide and shining.

"Someone broke in and…and they…oh, no," she moaned, moving aside so the officers could step into the room.  The Safety Patrollers took in the scene with frowns on their faces.  Pieces of metal had been sawed from the bike and bent terribly.  The exhaust had been sliced in half and mangled.  The drive chain had been torn forcibly from bike and ripped apart, links of the chain scattered around the room.  The brake pads had been pried off as well and were tossed haphazardly on the floor.  Jun stood in the midst of the shards of her work, standing quite still and staring towards the bike.

"Looks like Renault was just waiting for you to get this far," Fillmore sighed.  "_Dawg_.  This is awful."

"How could he get in?" Ingrid asked.  "I've seen you lock the door everyday when we leave.  Could he have gotten your key, Nadia?"  Nadia shook her head, looking quite distraught.

"I wear it on a short necklace," she said.  "I never take it off.  Even if I was asleep, Jace couldn't get it.  I'm a light sleeper, so I'd know if he took it.  Oh, Jun, I'm so, so sorry about this!"  Jun did not reply.  After a moment, she let out a small scoff and lifted her hand to grab the goggles resting on her head.

"You should never apologize if it isn't your fault," she said, her voice rather energetic and cheerful.  "Your brother might think this is a setback for us, but I can repair all of this before the end of the day.  We'll break it down, send the frame out for powder coat, and everything for chroming.  We'll polish everything off in three weeks or less."  She slid the goggles to rest over her eyes.  "'At's a promise, Nadia."  She smiled and gave Nadia a thumbs-up before diving into her task.

Jun was as good as her word.  She seemed to enter a higher gear than the previous month and flew through the damage as quickly as she had during the time trial she had beaten Renault in.  Shortly after noon, she and Nadia had broken the bike apart and packed the items for chroming.  Jun's father arrived at twelve-fifteen to take the items to their destinations, as well as to escort Jun and Nadia to the powder coat shop.  Fillmore and Ingrid declined a polite invitation and replied that they had to remain at the school to insure that Renault did not break into the garage again.

The two girls returned before the end of the day and explained that the frame and the chromed parts would be delivered to the garage at six o'clock exactly the next morning.  The deliverymen had received the code for the lock on the garage door and had promised to relock the garage after leaving the packages and the frame inside the building.  Fillmore and Ingrid shared a semi-perturbed glance.

----------

The reason for the unhappy expression on the patrollers' faces was simple: December had just started.  That night, the town received a frigid snowfall.  Unfortunately for everyone that went to X Middle School, the snow was not deep enough to warrant a snow day and they were forced to bear the chill.  Ingrid and Fillmore, however, were on school grounds with a few other patrollers by five forty-five in the morning.

"So me, Tehama, and Anza were walking your beat, right?" Danny O'Farrell said in a low voice as he and Fillmore hid behind a bush near the metal garage's loading area.  "I see this kid who's got a real shifty look, you know?  So I say 'X Middle School Safety Patrol!' and he just—"

"O'Farrell," Fillmore sighed warningly.  O'Farrell took the warning and shut his mouth fairly quickly.  Fillmore plucked his talkie from his belt and lifted it to his mouth.  "Ingrid, do you see anything?"

"Nothing," Ingrid replied.  She peered from around the tree she was behind, lifting binoculars to her eyes and looking for any signs of movement at either side of the loading dock.  "Has O'Farrell asked the question yet?"

"You know, maybe Jace Renault isn't going to do anything," Danny murmured thoughtfully, looking up at the light snowfall that had started only moments ago.  Fillmore sighed at him.

"Yes," he grumbled over the talkie.  "The truck left five minutes ago.  Renault should be here soon.  Vallejo's up at the door inside, so there's no doubt that he'll come around back.  We just have to wait."

"Hold on," Ingrid said, her voice dropping to a whisper.  "There's someone coming up the path.  It's definitely Renault.  Get ready."  Fillmore clipped the talkie back onto his belt and waited.  Renault jogged around the corner and heaved himself up onto high ledge.  He punched in the code for the door to open without a single hesitation and slipped inside when it was low enough for him to crouch under the door.  He came back out carrying a box full of chromed pieces.

"Jace Renault!" Fillmore rose to his feet and called out when Renault jumped to the ground, box in his arms.  "X Middle School Safety Patrol!  Put down the box and come with us!"  Renault put the box under one arm, groped in his jacket pocket, and threw what looked like a full water balloon at Fillmore.  Fillmore dodged in time, but O'Farrell received the balloon in the face.  It exploded and splattered paint all over the red-haired boy.  Renault was already off and running.

"Ingrid, come on!" Fillmore shouted as he started after Renault.  Ingrid rushed out from her hiding place and caught up with Fillmore, matching pace with him as they tore after Renault.  The two officers were fully prepared to chase Renault clear across campus, but they didn't have to.  Renault had stopped when he came around the foremost corner of the school.  Jun stood before him, frowning angrily at him.

"If you're so confident of your work, why are you sabotaging me?" she snapped.  "Or trying to, you pathetic little bug."  She paused, staring at Renault.  He was trembling visibly, his knees shaking as if he was utterly terrified.  A moment later, he fell to the ground, dropping the box in the snow and covering his face with his hands to try and muffle the sob that wrenched from his throat.

"I'm sorry, Jun!"  Fillmore and Ingrid almost jumped at the voice.  The thief—the saboteur—was Renault, but it was Nadia Renault.  "I'm so sorry!"  Jun stared at her in shock.  Nadia only sobbed.

_—to be continued—_


	3. Sleepless Build

Drive of the Wolf

Act 3: Sleepless Build

[Disclaimer: Disney owns "Fillmore!"  I own whatever I write/create.  Don't steal and don't sue.]

"Miss Renault!  Miss Renault!  You've just been caught red-handed sabotaging your partner _and_ best friend Jun Faolan!  What do you have to say in your defense?"

"Get out of the way!  Move aside!  This is official Safety Patrol business—you're all in the way!  Move!"  The cloud of reporters let out a moan when the door closed.  They turned as one.

"Hey—it's Jun!  Jun!  Miss Jun Faolan!  We're from the Examiner!  Word has it that you were the one who caught Nadia Renault as she was stealing parts of your project!  How does it feel to be betrayed by your best friend?"  Jun didn't answer.  She pushed her way through the reporters and walked into the headquarters of the Safety Patrol.

"Jun?" Fillmore asked in surprise.  Jun did not look at him.  She did not look at Nadia, even though Nadia was staring at her.

"Have you done everything you need with this?" Jun asked no one in particular.  She was looking at the box of parts that Ingrid had taken from Nadia earlier that morning.

"Pretty much," Ingrid replied.

"Good," Jun muttered.  She picked the box up, turned about, and headed for the door.

"Jun, wait!" Nadia shouted desperately.  "Please, wait!  I'm sorry!  I didn't want to do this!  I'm sorry!  Jun!"  Jun did not stop walking, and she did not turn to look at Nadia.  Nadia let out a soft sob and walked with Fillmore into the interrogation room.

----------

"Here.  You like cocoa?  Looks like you could use a pick-me-up."

"Thank you.  Do you usually give criminals like me hot cocoa when you interrogate them?"

"OK, Nadia, tell me what's going on.  Most people don't apologize if they try to sabotage someone else.  Why'd you say that you didn't want to do this?"

"Listen, officer, I just…I can't explain.  Please, just tell me what punishment Folsom's going to give me."

"She says that she's going to wait to give you your punishment.  We only have proof that you tried to steal the pieces this morning.  We don't know who damaged the bike two days ago."

"You know that it's me.  Everyone knows that it's me.  I'm not going to be able to show my face anymore.  Jun hates me."

"Nadia, is there something you're not telling us?  Why did you do this?  Aren't you Jun's best friend?"  Nadia did not answer.  She kept her eyes to the cup of cocoa in her hands.  Fillmore sighed and left the room.  He went to the next room and stood at the two-way mirror with Vallejo and Ingrid.

"Why isn't she talking?" Vallejo grumbled.  "You can tell she's hiding something."

"Maybe there's a reason she can't say anything," Ingrid sighed.

"You think someone's blackmailing her to do this and keep her mouth shut?" the junior commissioner asked, only slightly shocked.  "Who?  Wait, her brother?"

"He's definitely got a grudge," Fillmore said in assent.  "Maybe since he lives with Nadia he knows something she doesn't want anyone else to know."  The three stood in silence, watching as Nadia sat very still with her head low.  Ingrid studied the girl on the other side of the glass for a few minutes before turning to her comrades.

"Listen, let me talk to her," she murmured.  "I'll take her to the holding room.  Maybe she'll talk if there's just one person she can see and talk to.  No one behind a mirror, you know?"  Vallejo considered this and nodded.

"You do know that once she steps out of this office, she's going to be tailed by everyone from the newspaper to the people that are going to hate her for trying to sabotage Jun," he said in a somewhat reminding tone.  "X isn't going to be safe for Nadia Renault unless you figure out what's going on, Third."

"No pressure then," Fillmore chuckled.  Ingrid shook her head as she left the room and walked into the interrogation room.

"Nadia, come with me for a minute," she said.  "You can bring that if you want."  Nadia did not take the cocoa with her, instead shoving her hands in her jeans pockets and staring miserably at the ground near Ingrid's feet.  She followed Ingrid blindly and listlessly, sinking onto one of the benches in the holding room.  Ingrid closed both halves of the door, locking them and sitting on the bench opposite Nadia.

"Do you have any idea what's going to happen to you if Jun loses the build-off because you tried to sabotage her?" the black-haired girl asked gently.  "What'll happen if you don't tell me why you said what you did to Jun?"

"I'll probably be suspended or expelled," Nadia answered in a depressed voice.  "If I'm not expelled, people will hate me.  I tried to ruin Jun.  I didn't want to, but I did!  Why doesn't he do anything himself?  Why is it always me?  I don't want to hurt Jun!"

"Who's he?" Ingrid questioned.

"I can't tell you!" Nadia moaned desperately, clutching her head.  "If I do, he'll tell everyone!  I can't say anything or he'll tell everyone everything!"

"Nadia, I'm not going to tell anyone else what you're telling me right now," Ingrid reassured the other girl.  "I swear on my badge and sash.  Just tell me who's blackmailing you, and what he has on you."

"It's Jace," Nadia groaned, tears beginning to run from her eyes.  "He's the one.  He knows."

"Knows what?  Nadia, it's all right.  Just tell me.  I can help you.  The Safety Patrol can help you.  What does Jace know that he can blackmail you to ruin your best friend?"  There was a pregnant silence.

"I like Jun."  Ingrid blinked once.  "I was talking to my mom one night two months ago because I had no idea what to do.  I didn't know if I should tell Jun because I'm so scared that I'm…_gay_.  Jace overheard me.  He told me that if I didn't ruin Jun's chances of winning the build-off, he'd send a letter to the Examiner that says I'm in love with Jun.  Jun's got things going for her.  I don't want to screw up her life just because I like her so much!"  Ingrid crouched down in front of Nadia and put her hands on the other girl's shoulders.

"The only thing that could hurt Jun is if you didn't tell her—if you didn't tell everyone the truth.  She thinks her best friend betrayed her but she doesn't know why.  I don't think she'll do anything to really hurt you if you tell her that you like her.  Sure, it'll hurt if she…what's the term I'm looking for?"

"If she doesn't swing that way?"

"Right.  See, there's some humor in this.  But if you don't say something, then Jace is just going to hang this over you until he cheats his way into power.  Were you planning on keeping this a secret forever or did you ever think of just telling Jun?"

"Even if I tell her, that doesn't mean anything now.  Jace will just deny that he blackmailed me.  I don't have any proof."

"Proof?  Hmm…I have an idea."

----------

Fillmore leaned against the door of the garage.  Jun sat on the floor, her back against the hydraulic lift and her eyes on the grounds.  Earphones sat in her ears as she sat still, not moving and more importantly, not working.  It had been at least an hour since Ingrid had taken Nadia to speak away from prying ears.  After hauling O'Farrell away from loitering near the doors, Fillmore had gone down to the metal garage to make sure Jace Renault didn't take advantage of his sister's incarceration.

He arrived to an unlocked door.  Jun had been sitting on the floor since he arrived, listening to music and nothing else.  The box of pieces that she had retrieved from Safety Patrol headquarters sat on a table, apparently forgotten.  Fillmore was about to walk over and pull the earphones from Jun's ears and demand to know why she was sitting there when someone knocked at the door.

"It's me," Ingrid called through the door.  Fillmore opened the door to let his partner in, pausing when Nadia walked in first, pushing a cart of pieces of the bike.  Ingrid gave Fillmore a conspiratorial wink as she closed the door for him.  Without introduction, Nadia lifted the gas tank of the bike into her hands, crouched down in front of Jun, and held said item under said girl's nose.  Jun jerked back slightly, her eyes widening.

The gas tank, as well as all of the pieces that Nadia had been painting, featured one thing in particular.  A black wolf was taking a running bound across the length of the bike, red flames rising up behind the wolf as it ran over the snowy ground.  Each piece continued the fluid picture of the wolf, the flames, and the snow.  The wolf translated cleanly onto either side of the bike and even to the top of the tank.  It was if someone had taken multiple pictures of the wolf in its pose at every angle and placed it over the bike.

Jun's eyes, however, were focused on something on the wolf itself.  White paint on the top of the gas tank curved in elegant Japanese kanji calligraphy.  Her eyes traced the two vertical lines of characters.  She pulled the earphones from her ears, took the tank from Nadia and put it aside, and pulled the other girl close.  Ingrid beckoned Fillmore to follow her out of the garage.

"What was that about?" Fillmore asked.  Ingrid smiled slightly.

"You were right about a Renault having a crush on Jun," she answered.  "That's how Jace blackmailed Nadia into sabotaging the build-off.  Now that Nadia told Jun on her own, all we need is proof that Jace blackmailed her."  Fillmore grinned at her.

"So where does Renault work?" he asked.

"In a garage at his father's tune-up shop."

"And what are Jun and Nadia going to do?"

"They're going to move to Jun's father's shop."

"Right.  Let's go see if we can get an estimate down at Renault's shop."

----------

By the time the final bell toned, Nadia and Jun had left for Jun's father's shop with all of the parts of the bike.  Fillmore and Ingrid had their own agenda.  Undercover, the two traveled into town to find the tune-up shop.

"So what do we have to work with?" Fillmore questioned.  Ingrid held up a small video camera.

"It'll record the sights and sounds in the garage for an hour after you plant it," she said.  "I'll distract Renault's dad.  You just have to plant the camera without Renault or his partner knowing that you planted it or that it's there."

"Disco," Fillmore chuckled, taking the camera from Ingrid.  "So after an hour we'll come back, get the camera, and see if Renault says anything about blackmailing Nadia."

"Knowing Renault, he'll probably be talking about it nonstop," Ingrid sighed.  "Ready?"

"Oh yeah."

----------

"Hey, my dad sent me to ask you about something.  How much body damage can you fix?"  Fillmore smirked slightly and slipped towards a display of brake pads.  He could see a door just beyond the display with the word "GARAGE" emblazoned on the wood surface.  Adjusting his dark glasses, Fillmore carefully tested the knob.  The door was unlocked, much to his pleasure.  He opened the door as little as he could and slipped inside.

The door led immediately to the garage, but opened upon a small staircase.  Fillmore glanced to his right and knelt down.  A table laden with tools rose to meet the second stair.  Fillmore almost grinned.  He walked down the stairs and stood in font of the table.  Under the pretense of picking up a heavier hammer with both of his hands, Fillmore placed the camera on the part of the table that extended under the stairs and continued along the wall.

The table under the stairs was covered in dust and obviously never even considered when someone was looking for a certain tool.  The camera was black, and electrical tape covered the recording-alert light.  The gaps between the stairs were a perfect view of Renault and almost the entire garage.  It would be impossible for Renault to find the camera unless he knew where and what to look for.

"What're you doing in here?"  Fillmore hastily turned the camera on and pressed the record button before grabbing the hammer and turning around.

"Oh, sorry _mon ami_," Fillmore said in a falsetto French accent.  "I was looking for ze exit, but when I saw all of zes incredible working implements, I just could not help myself!"

"Get out of here!" Jace Renault snarled.  "Get lost before I pound you into the dirt!"  Fillmore put down the hammer and held up his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"I'm so sorry!" Fillmore said in an apologetic tone, all the while chuckling in his mind.  "I'll be going—sorry to have bothered you!"  He quickly walked back up the stairs and back into the main store.  He walked from the shop and went around the corner.  Five minutes later, Ingrid came around the corner with a questioning glance on her face.

"Disco," Fillmore said with a smirk and a thumbs-up.

----------

It was a sign how much Principal Folsom cared about the outcome of the build-off that she declared that the judging would occur in place of classes on a short Friday before the winter break and in the Ultra-Box convention center.  Renault had arrived at the convention center shortly after the center had opened.  He and his partner pushed their sport bike motorcycle onto the main stage, Renault's father having delivered the bike with his truck.

The bike was impressive.  Its body color was a candy apple red with solid flames of metallic gold.  To those that knew motorcycles, its style seemed to follow Jesse James' _El Diablo_ patterns.  Renault stood beside his bike with hubris plain throughout his entire body.  The fact that Jun had not appeared when he had made him feel that he was sure to win.

"She's scared," he laughed to reporters from the Examiner.  "She won't show up.  My sister backstabbed her—she wasn't able to finish her build on her own."  About thirty minutes after Renault arrived, someone walked to Fillmore and Ingrid.

"Everything's ready, Nadia," Fillmore assured the girl.

"The tape we have is ready to go," Ingrid continued to answer.  "And the CD is waiting for our signal.  Is Jun ready?"

"Perfectly," Nadia answered.  "But don't say my name so loudly.  Everyone still thinks I tried to sabotage Jun on purpose."

"After this, everything will be back to normal," Fillmore murmured.

"As normal as everything can be here," Nadia sighed.  "All right, it's time.  Give whoever's manning the CD player the signal."  Ingrid pulled her talkie from her sash.

"Start it, Tehama."  The speakers clicked on.  Everyone looked up expectantly at the speakers in the ceiling and walls.  Music began to play.  A guitar riff started, and a solo commenced shortly after.

_"Tooku de me o hikarasete mezameru monotachi matte iru…"_  The beat was fast—no one seemed to care that they couldn't understand the words.  Ingrid smirked at Fillmore's somewhat confused gaze.

"Jun's mother was Japanese," she explained.  "Jun's bilingual, and Nadia says this is her favorite song."

"So the writing on the gas tank?" Fillmore questioned.

"Kanji," Ingrid answered.  "The last line of lyrics from this song.  It was her way of telling Jun how she feels."

"I think it worked," Fillmore murmured.  A dull rumbling sound pierced the song.  "And I think Jun feels the same way."  The two Safety Patrollers near the double doors opened them.  Jun rode in astride the completed sport bike, rolling up onto the stage and facing Renault head on.  She turned off the bike, pulled off her helmet, pushed up her goggles, and grinned at Renault.  The gathered crowd began to cheer at Jun's arrival.  Principal Folsom and Vice Principal Raycliff stepped forwards on the stage with a microphone in Folsom's hands.

"Now that our resident title holder is here, let the judging begin," Folsom said.  Three students—Terra Octavia, Robert Chestnut, and (of all people) Danny O'Farrell—stepped out from the wings with clipboards in hands.  They went first to Renault's bike.  Jun followed them.

"So what kind of motorcycle is this?" Terra asked.

"The engine is a 919cc liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder," Renault said in return.  "Six-speed transmission with a 10.8 to one compression ratio."  In tandem, Robert, O'Farrell, and Terra raised their brows in utter confusion.

"Wha' it means," Jun interjected, "is tha' it's got about a hundred horsepower.  Simple enough?"  Saying their thanks for the comment, the judges began to circle the bike.  They examined the paint job in a rather scrutinizing fashion.  At Robert's request, Renault started the bike.  The engine purred in neutral.  After five minutes, the judges marked on their clipboards and went towards Jun's bike.

"A 998cc liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder," Jun said, almost echoing Renault.  "Cassette-type close-ratio six-speed transmission with an 11.9 to one compression ratio.  It has about a hundred and fifty horsepower."  With no introduction, she started the bike.  It purred as well as the judges walked about and examined the paint job.

"This is exquisite artwork," Robert Chestnut said appraisingly.

"And what are these white characters on the wolf's back?" Terra Octavia asked.  "They look…Chinese or Japanese."

"Japanese," Jun replied.  "Kanji.  The characters mean 'Hold me gently, always catch me, more and more, in order to break my heart.'"  O'Farrell gave a great sniff, rubbing at his eyes.

"That's so _moving_," he said in a whisper, clutching his clipboard to his chest.  "It's so beautiful!"  He scribbled furiously on his board, scurried over to Principal Folsom, handed in his judgment, and hurried back to gawk at the bike again.  Terra and Robert made their final judgment as well and turned them into Folsom.

"Our judges have reached a decision," Folsom said, her chronic smile still in place.  "For the positions of Mech Club president—"

Fillmore, Ingrid, and Nadia started towards the stage, walking as quickly as they could.

"—Captain of the motocross team—"

They stepped onto the stage, but did not rush forwards.

"—And head technician of X Middle School, the winner of this build-off is…Jun Faolan!"  The convention center erupted into cheers and applause.  Jun bowed at the applause, one arm crossing her chest and the other sweeping out to the side as she bent low at the waist.  Unable to hold back, Nadia rushed forwards and wrapped her arms around Jun in a tight hug.

"NO!"  The screaming shout broke through the applause and cheers.  Everyone looked to Renault.  He was ashen-faced, his teeth bared and his eyebrows tightened to a glare.

"How could you have won?" he demanded, still screaming in sheer rage.  "You weren't supposed to win!  You shouldn't even have been able to finish your build!  Nadia sabotaged you!  She was kicked off of your team!  How could you have finished the build without her?"

"Because Nadia was still working with her," Fillmore said, stepping forwards to stand behind Renault, Ingrid at his side.  "She didn't sabotage Jun."

"Not willingly anyway," Ingrid continued the confrontation.  "You blackmailed her into trying to sabotage Jun."

"You have no proof of that!" he snarled.

"Oh, we do," Fillmore replied fiercely.  He lifted his talkie to his mouth.  "Play the tape, Anza."  The large screen behind the stage was suddenly lit with picture and the speakers echoed Renault's voice.  He and his partner were shown welding pieces of the bike together.

"_So you're sure that Jun's going to lose?_" Renault's partner questioned.  Renault grinned onscreen.

"_Of course I'm sure,_" he said.  "_If Nadia doesn't want me to send a letter to the Examiner with her little secret, then she'll do whatever I tell her to—even sabotage Jun Faolan.  And since she's too scared to ever tell anyone, she'll be my little scapegoat and ruin Jun's life!_"  The tape ended with Renault chuckling cruelly.  Renault was staring at Nadia, his eyes burning with anger.

"That's it, Nadia!" he shrieked.  "I told you to keep your mouth shut and do what I said, but you couldn't keep quiet!"  He turned to face the crowd and pointed at his sister.  "She's—"

"She's my girlfriend," Jun said before Renault could blurt it out.  Her arm was around Nadia's shoulders, her eyes glaring at Renault.  "I'm not sorry if you 'ave a problem with that, so deal with it, Renault."  Renault's bike suddenly let out a groan.  Even he turned back to look at it.

"You didn't charge the cooling system," Jun said, her eyes wide as she stared at the bike.

"So what?" Renault howled.  At that moment, the bike seemed to explode.  A metal rod burst through the gas tank and flew straight up through the ceiling.  Fillmore ran to the bike immediately and turned it off.  Gas dripped onto the stage from the hole in the bottom of the tank, but nothing caught fire.

"You threw a rod, you git!" Jun snapped, her arms around Nadia protectively.  "If someone had been near there, they could 'ave been killed!"  By this time, however, Renault had given up.  He was on his knees, broken.  He had lost his trump card, his pride, and his bike in one fell swoop.  He let Anza and Tehama escort him away.

----------

"So what happened to Renault after all of this?" Ingrid asked.  The winter break had ended, and things were beginning to return to normal.

"Folsom expelled him," Fillmore answered.  "His parents are sending him to military school."

"And Nadia?" Ingrid inquired.  Fillmore smirked.

"She and Jun are back heading the Mech Club and beating all the other schools at motocross," he said.  "And you know what?  After that shout-out in the convention center, I really thought some people were going to drop out of those clubs."

"But they've gotten even more members," Ingrid chuckled.  "It's really about how cool people think you are here at X."  Fillmore nodded, his smirk still in place.  The talkie on his belt let out two short static bursts.

"Fillmore," he responded.

"_Fillmore, we've got a ketchup and mustard-thief on the run heading for the auditorium!_" Anza's voice said.  "_You and Ingrid try to head him off!_"  Fillmore looked at his partner, who was already on her way towards the door.

"We're on it!"

_—end—_

[Author's Note: Yep, it's another story involving lesbiansfrom me.  I thought it might be appropriate for a show like this.  No, not because it's a show for younger audiences, but because of the locale.  Middle school is a prime time in a person's life to discover that they're homosexual.  Many times, their response to this is what occurred in this story.  And sometimes, other people responded to this by attacking that person—or blackmailing them like Renault did to Nadia.

I'm not asking you to understand this, nor am I asking you to support it.  All I'm saying is that homosexuals exist.  They're not rare, nor are they common.  They aren't going to go away just because people discriminate or commit hate crimes against them.  To put it as Fillmore might, everyone just needs to deal.  Homosexuals exist, folks.  Get over it and get on with your lives.

Hope you enjoyed the fic.  —Shinji Shazaki]


End file.
